Plasma process device

ABSTRACT

A plasma process device capable of forming homogeneous plasma and coping with a large size substrate less costly can be obtained. The plasma process device includes a processing chamber, microwave guiding device, a shower plate and a reaction gas supply passage. The microwave guiding device guides a microwave into the processing chamber. The shower plate has a gas inlet hole to supply to the processing chamber a reaction gas attaining a plasma state by the microwave, and a lower surface facing the processing chamber and an upper surface positioned on the opposite side of the lower surface. The reaction gas supply passage is a positioned on the upper surface of the shower plate and supplies the reaction gas to the gas inlet hole. A wall surface of the reaction gas supply passage includes an upper surface of the shower plate and a conductor wall surface opposing the upper surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to plasma process devices, and morespecifically, to a plasma process device capable of performing aprocessing such as deposition, etching and ashing to a large size,rectangular glass substrate using plasma.

2. Description of the Background Art

Conventional plasma process devices to perform deposition, etching andashing using plasma are known. One of known methods of generating plasmain such a plasma process device is an electron cyclotron resonanceplasma excitation method according to which plasma is excited using amicrowave and a DC magnetic field. In the electron cyclotron resonanceplasma excitation method, however, stable plasma results only if thepressure is set to a level of several mTorr or less at the time ofgenerating plasma. In addition, since the electron temperature in plasmais high, the plasma formed using the electron cyclotron resonance plasmaexcitation method is not suitable for the process such as deposition asdescribed above. In the electron cyclotron resonance plasma excitationmethod, a DC magnetic field must be applied, which necessitates theentire device to have a large size. As a result, the manufacturing costof the plasma process device is disadvantageously high.

Meanwhile, there is a known method of exciting plasma using the surfacewave mode of microwave propagating through dielectric rather than usingan electron cyclotron resonance method with a DC magnetic field asdescribed above. The plasma excitation method using the surface wave ofa microwave can produce stable plasma if the pressure is set in arelatively broad range from several ten mTorr to several Torr or higher,Since the electron temperature in the plasma is relatively low, surfacewave excited plasmas are suitable for any of the above processings suchas deposition may result.

In a process such as plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and etching,a reaction gas must be introduced uniformly over the entire surface ofsubstrate subject to a reactive process. This is to assure processcondition uniformity for deposition, etching or the like over the entiresubstrate. As one known means for achieving this is the use of a showerplate to supply a reaction gas in a plasma process device. Herein, theshower plate refers to a plate shaped member positioned to oppose asubstrate to be processed and having a plurality of reaction gas inletsto introduce a reaction gas into a processing chamber in which thesubstrate is placed.

As a conventional plasma process device using a method of excitingplasma using the surface wave of a microwave as described above togetherwith a shower plate, a plasma process device using a radial line slotantenna has been known. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross sectional view of aconventional plasma process device using a radial line slot antenna.Referring to FIG. 16, the plasma process device will be described.

Referring to FIG. 16, plasma process device 150 includes a vacuum vessel156 as a processing chamber, a shower plate 153, a dielectric plate 152,a radial line slot antenna 151 and an exhaust pump 155. In vacuum vessel156, a circular substrate 154 subjected to deposition process or thelike is placed on a substrate holder. Shower plate 153 of dielectric isprovided on the upper wall surface of vacuum vessel 156 opposingsubstrate 154. Dielectric plate 152 is provided above shower plate 153with a gap 163 therebetween. Radial line slot antenna 151 is provided ondielectric plate 152. Shower plate 153, dielectric plate 152 and radialline slot antenna 151 have a circular shape when viewed from the top. Areaction gas inlet passage 157 is formed to connect the gap 163 betweenshower plate 153 and dielectric plate 152. A reaction gas introduced togap 163 from reaction gas inlet passage 157 is let into vacuum vessel156 through the gas inlets formed in shower plate 153.

Substantially homogeneous plasma 158 is formed over the entire surfaceof substrate 154 from the reaction gas by the microwave introduced intovacuum vessel 156 from radial line slot antenna 151 through dielectricplate 152, gap 163 and shower plate 153 formed of dielectric. Withplasma 158, a processing such as deposition may be performed on thesurface of substrate 154. The reaction gas which have not contributed tothe processing and the gas generated by the reaction at the substratesurface are let out of vacuum vessel 156 through exhaust pump 155.

FIG. 17 is a perspective cross sectional view of the radial line slotantenna shown in FIG. 16. Referring to FIG. 17, the radial line slotantenna will be described.

Referring to FIG. 17, radial line slot antenna 151 includes a coaxialwaveguide 160, a ground plate 159 formed of conductor, a dielectricplate 161 and a slot plate 164 of conductor having slots 162. Dielectricplate 161 is provided under ground plate 159. A slot plate 164 isprovided under dielectric plate 161. Coaxial waveguide 160 is connectedto dielectric plate 161. A microwave is transmitted to dielectric plate161 from coaxial waveguide 160. Dielectric plate 161 serves as a radialmicrowave transmission path. A microwave is radiated through slots 162formed in slot plate 164 from the entire bottom surface of radial lineslot antenna 151.

In the conventional plasma process device using the radial line slotantenna, plasma excitation with a microwave and uniform supply of areaction gas to the processing chamber using the shower plate aresimultaneously performed. The plasma process device using the radialline slot antenna described above suffers from the following problem.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 16, in the conventional plasmaprocess device, a microwave used to form plasma 158 is supplied fromradial line slot antenna 151 into vacuum vessel 156 as a processingchamber through dielectric plate 152, gap 163 and shower plate 153. Atthis time, gap 163 serving as a transmission path for the microwave alsofunction as a supply passage for a reaction gas to vacuum vessel 156. Asa result, there is the reaction gas to generate plasma in gap 163.Therefore, the microwave transmitted from radial line slot antenna 151into vacuum vessel 156 can generate plasma when the gas pressure in gap163 and the microwave conditions are inappropriate. If plasma is thusgenerated in gap 163, shower plate 153 and dielectric plate 152 could bedamaged by this plasma. In order to prevent the plasma (abnormal plasma)from being generated in gap 163, the pressure of the reaction gas in gap163 was set significantly higher than the pressure of the reaction gasin vacuum vessel 156. This is for the following reason: electrons in thereaction gas are accelerated by an electric field by the microwave. Ifhowever the pressure of the reaction gas in gap 163 is set to a highlevel of 10 Torr or more, for example, the electrons can collide withother gas atoms or molecules before they are accelerated by the aboveelectric field. As a result, the electrons will no longer have enoughenergy to generate plasma, so that the plasma can be restrained frombeing generated in gap 163.

While the pressure of the reaction gas in gap 163 is set to a highlevel, the pressure inside vacuum vessel 156 must be maintained at alevel of several mTorr. As a result, the pressure of the reaction gas ingap 163 is kept at a high level, while the supply of the reaction gas tovacuum vessel 156 must be sufficiently small. Therefore, the easinessfor the reaction gas to flow (conductance) through the reaction gasinlets formed in shower plate 153 must be small. In order to realizesuch small conductance, fine gas inlets in shower plate 153 must beformed with extremely high precision (a precision in the order of 10μm). Meanwhile, shower plate 153 must be formed using dielectric such asceramic to allow a microwave to propagate. It is extremely difficult toform gas inlets having such high precision in the dielectric. As aresult the manufacturing cost of the shower plate is disadvantageouslyhigh.

Since the pressure of the reaction gas in gap 163 must be kept at a highlevel, process conditions such as the component ratio or flow rate ofthe reaction gas can be hardly precisely controlled. As a result, theprocess conditions such as the gas component ratio are shifted from aprescribed numerical range, which makes it difficult to adjust theprocess conditions, and plasma process such as deposition can no longerperformed in a prescribed condition.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the conventional radial lineslot antenna 151 is circular, in order to apply it to a rectangularsubstrate for used in a TFT liquid crystal display device or the like,shower plate 153 larger than the rectangular substrate must be used sothat the entire surface of the rectangular substrate can be covered.Such rectangular substrates have been increased in size from 500 mm×500mm to 1 m×1 m as the liquid crystal display device has come to have alarger size. Radial line slot antenna 151 and shower plate 153 areformed using dielectric such as ceramic as described above. Since itwould be difficult to form a large size dielectric plate of ceramic orthe like, the conventional plasma process device cannot cope with thelarge size rectangular type substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a solution to the above describedproblem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide aplasma process device capable of forming homogeneous plasma, and copingwith a large area substrate less costly.

A plasma process device according to one aspect of the present inventionincludes a processing chamber, microwave guiding means, a shower plate,and a reaction gas supply passage. In the processing chamber, aprocessing using plasma is performed. The microwave guiding means guidesa microwave into the processing chamber. The shower plate has a gasinlet hole to supply to the processing chamber a reaction gas attaininga plasma state by the microwave, and a lower surface facing theprocessing chamber and an upper surface positioned on the opposite sideof the lower surface. The reaction gas supply passage is positioned onthe upper surface of the shower plate to supply the reaction gas to thegas inlet hole. A wall surface of the reaction gas supply passageincludes an upper surface of the shower plate and a conductor wallsurface provided opposing the upper surface.

In this case, the microwave is not transmitted through the conductor. Asa result, since the wall surface of the gas supply passage positioned onthe upper surface of the shower plate includes the conductor wallsurface, of the microwave transmitted from the microwave guiding meansto the processing chamber, a component having a large electric fieldamplitude can be prevented from being guided into the reaction gassupply passage. As a result, formation of plasma (abnormal plasmaformation) from the reaction gas in the reaction gas supply passagecaused by the microwave can be prevented. Therefore, the wall surface ofthe reaction gas supply passage, in other words, the upper surface ofthe shower plate or the like can be prevented from being damaged byplasma.

Since abnormal plasma can be prevented from being generated in thereaction gas supply passage, the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage can be set lower than the conventionaldevice. Thus, the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas inthe reaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas inthe processing chamber can be reduced, so that the conductance of thereaction gas in the gas inlet hole in the shower plate can be largerthan the conventional case. Therefore, the size of the gas inlet hole inthe shower plate can be set larger than the conventional device, so thathigh precision machining required by the conventional device inprocessing the gas inlet holes is no longer necessary. As a result, themanufacturing cost of the shower plate can be reduced.

Since the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas in theprocessing chamber can be reduced, process conditions such as thecomponents of the reaction gas may be more readily adjusted than theconventional device. Thus, plasma of prescribed components may bereadily obtained.

In addition, since the shower plate is used to supply the reaction gasuniformly in the processing chamber, homogeneous plasma can be obtained.

A plasma process device according to another aspect of the presentinvention includes a processing chamber, microwave guiding means, ashower plate, and a reaction gas supply passage. In the processingchamber, a processing using plasma is performed. The microwave guidingmeans has an opening formed on the processing chamber to guide amicrowave into the processing chamber. The shower plate is positionedbetween the processing chamber and the microwave guiding means and has agas inlet hole to supply to the processing chamber a reaction gasattaining a plasma state by the microwave. The reaction gas supplypassage is formed in a region other than the region under the opening ofthe microwave guiding means to supply the reaction gas to the gas inlethole.

In this case, the microwave radiated from the opening of the microwaveguiding means is transmitted to the shower plate, and into theprocessing chamber from the shower plate. Thus, the region positionedunder the opening of the microwave guiding means serves as thetransmission path of the microwave. The reaction gas supply passage isformed in a region other than the region under the opening of thetransmission path of the microwave, so that the reaction gas supplypassage and the transmission path of the microwave can be located so asnot to overlap one another. Therefore, a component of the microwavehaving a large electric field amplitude can be surely prevented frombeing irradiated in the reaction gas supply passage, so that plasmacaused by irradiation of the microwave upon the reaction gas can beprevented from being generated in the reaction gas supply passage. As aresult, the wall surface of the reaction gas supply passage or the likecan be prevented from being damaged by the plasma.

In addition, since abnormal plasma can be prevented from being generatedin the reaction gas supply passage, the pressure of the reaction gas inthe reaction gas supply passage can be set lower than the conventionaldevice. Thus, the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas inthe reaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas inthe processing chamber can be reduced, so that the conductance of thereaction gas in the gas inlet hole in the shower plate can be largerthan the conventional case. Therefore, the size of the gas inlet hole inthe shower plate can be set larger than the conventional device, so thathigh precision machining required by the conventional device is nolonger necessary in processing the gas inlet hole. As a result, themanufacturing cost of the shower plate can be reduced.

Since the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas in theprocessing chamber can be reduced, process conditions such as thecomponents of the reaction gas can be adjusted more easily than theconventional device.

The use of the shower plate allows the reaction gas to be uniformlysupplied in the processing chamber, so that homogeneous plasma may beobtained.

A plasma process device according to another aspect of the presentinvention includes a processing chamber, microwave guiding means, ashower plate, and a reaction gas supply passage. In the processingchamber, a processing using plasma is performed. The microwave guidingmeans guides a microwave into the processing chamber. The shower platehas a gas inlet hole to supply to the processing chamber a reaction gasattaining a plasma state by the microwave. The reaction gas supplypassage is positioned on the shower plate and formed in a region otherthan the transmission path of the microwave guided into the processingchamber by the microwave guiding means for supplying the reaction gas tothe gas inlet hole.

Thus, since the reaction gas supply passage is formed in a region otherthan the transmission path of the microwave, a component of themicrowave having a large electric field amplitude can be prevented frombeing irradiated into the reaction gas supply passage. As a result,abnormal plasma caused by irradiation of the microwave upon the reactiongas can be surely prevented from being generated. Therefore, the innerwall of the reaction gas supply passage can be prevented from beingdamaged by the abnormal plasma.

Since the abnormal plasma can be prevented from being generated in thegas supply passage, the pressure of the reaction gas in the reaction gassupply passage can be set lower than the conventional level. As aresult, the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas in theprocessing chamber can be reduced, and the conductance of the reactiongas in the reaction gas inlet hole in the shower plate can be set largerthan the conventional device. As a result, the size of gas inlet holecan be increased compared to the conventional device, and therefore highprecision machining required in processing the gas inlet hole by theconventional device is no longer necessary. This allows themanufacturing cost of the shower plate to be reduced.

Since the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas in theprocessing chamber can be reduced, process conditions such as thecomponents of the reaction gas can be adjusted more easily than theconventional device.

Since the reaction gas can be uniformly supplied in the processingchamber using the shower plate, homogeneous plasma can be obtained.

A plasma process device according to another aspect of the presentinvention includes a processing chamber, microwave guiding means, ashower plate, and a reaction gas supply passage. In the processingchamber, a processing using plasma is performed. The microwave guidingmeans guides a microwave into the processing chamber. The shower platehas a gas inlet hole to supply to the processing chamber a reaction gasattaining a plasma state by the microwave. The reaction gas supplypassage is positioned on the shower plate and isolated from themicrowave guiding means by a conductor for supplying the reaction gas tothe gas inlet hole.

In this case, since the microwave is not transmitted through theconductor, if the microwave guiding means and the reaction gas supplypassage are isolated by the conductor, a component of the microwave fromthe microwave guiding means having a large electric field amplitude canbe surely prevented from being irradiated upon the reaction gas supplypassage. As a result, in the reaction gas supply passage, abnormalplasma caused by irradiation of the microwave upon the reaction gas inthe reaction gas supply passage can be prevented from being generated.Therefore, the inner wall or the like of the reaction gas supply passagecan be prevented from being damaged by this abnormal plasma.

Since abnormal plasma can be prevented from being generated in thereaction gas supply passage, the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage can be set lower than the conventionaldevice. Thus, the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas inthe reaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas inthe processing chamber can be reduced, so that the conductance of thereaction gas in the gas inlet hole in the shower plate can be largerthan the conventional case. Therefore, the size of the gas inlet hole inthe shower plate can be set larger than the conventional device, so thathigh precision machining required by the conventional device inprocessing the gas inlet hole is no longer necessary. As a result, themanufacturing cost of the shower plate can be reduced.

Since the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas in thereaction gas supply passage and the pressure of the reaction gas in theprocessing chamber can be reduced, process conditions such as thecomponents of the reaction gas can be adjusted more easily than theconventional device.

The use of the shower plate allows the reaction gas to be uniformlysupplied in the processing chamber using the shower plate, so thathomogeneous plasma may be obtained.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect, the shower plate may have a lower surface facing theprocessing chamber, and an upper surface positioned on the opposite sideof the lower surface, and the wall surface of the reaction gas supplypassage may include an upper surface of the shower plate and a conductorwall surface opposing the upper surface.

In this case, since the wall surface of the reaction gas supply passageincludes a conductor wall surface of conductor which does not transmitthe microwave, a component of the microwave having a large electricfield amplitude can be surely prevented from being irradiated from themicrowave guiding means to the reaction gas supply passage. As a result,abnormal plasma can be more surely prevented from being generated in thereaction gas supply passage.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, the gas inlet hole in theshower plate may be formed penetrating from the upper surface to lowersurface of the shower plate, and the gas inlet hole at the lower surfaceof the shower plate may have a diameter larger than the diameter of thegas inlet hole at the upper surface of the shower plate.

In this case, a cross section of the gas inlet hole may be a shapebroader from the upper surface to lower surface of the shower plate. Asa result, the reaction gas to be introduced from the gas inlet hole tothe processing chamber may be introduced not only in the verticaldirection but also in an oblique direction with respect to the lowersurface of the shower plate. As a result, the distribution of thereaction gas may be more homogeneous in the processing chamber. As aresult, the plasma process can be performed in more uniform conditions.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the invention, the shower plate may include aplurality of shower plate portions.

In this case, small size shower plate portions may be manufactured usingexisting manufacturing equipment and combined to form a shower platehaving a large area. As a result, a large size shower plate can bereadily provided.

Such small size shower plate portions of equal quality can be morereadily obtained using existing manufacturing equipment than forming alarge size shower plate. As a result, a large shower plate of more equaland good quality may be obtained than forming a large shower plate as anintegral form.

In the plasma process device using the shower plate of such a pluralityof shower plate portions, if any of shower plate portions is damaged,only the damaged shower plate is replaced, so that the equipment can bereadily and quickly repaired. As a result, time and labor required formaintenance of the plasma process device can be reduced.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, the isolation distance betweena lower surface of the shower plate facing the processing chamber and aconductor wall surface provided opposing an upper surface positioned onthe opposite side of the lower surface may be a integral multiple ofhalf a guide wavelength of the microwave (integral multiple of half awavelength of the microwave in microwave guide means).

Thus, cancellation of microwaves can be prevented, and more homogeneousand efficient plasma excitation can be achieved.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, the shower plate may includedielectric.

In this case, the microwave is transmitted through the dielectric, themicrowave supplied from the microwave guiding means can be readilytransmitted to the processing chamber through the shower plate.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, the dielectric is ceramiccontaining aluminum nitride as a main constituent.

In this case, since aluminum nitride has high thermal conductivity, ifthe shower plate is locally heated by plasma formed in the processingchamber, the locally applied heat can be quickly diffused to the entireshower plate. As a result, the shower plate can be prevented from beingdamaged by the local heating.

By using such a material having high thermal conductivity for the showerplate, if a high temperature portion is generated in the processingchamber, the heat of the high temperature portion can be quicklydiffused to another region through the shower plate. As a result, thetemperature of the processing chamber may be readily equalized.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, a vessel member, a pedestal,and a shower plate securing member may be provided. The vessel membermay form a processing chamber, and the pedestal may be secured to thevessel member. The shower plate securing member may secure the showerplate by pressing the shower plate to the pedestal.

In this case, if a screw is used for securing the shower plate to thepedestal, a screw hole to receive the screw must be formed in the showerplate of dielectric. The processing using the screw increases themanufacturing cost of the shower plate. In the plasma process deviceaccording to the present invention, however, the shower plate is securedto the pedestal by pressing the shower plate to the pedestal, andtherefore no screw hole is necessary. As a result, the manufacturingcost of the shower plate may be reduced.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, flow rate control means forcontrolling the flow rate of the reaction gas in the gas inlet hole inthe shower plate may be provided.

In this case, the flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to theprocessing chamber may be adjusted by the flow rate control means, andtherefore the plasma process condition in the processing chamber may bereadily optimized.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, the flow rate control means mayinclude a plug to be inserted into the gas inlet hole in the showerplate.

In this case, the conductance of the reaction gas in the gas inlet holein the shower plate can be changed by changing the diameter of the plugas the inner diameter of the gas inlet hole is fixed. More specifically,as the gas inlet hole in the shower plate, a hole of a prescribed sizeis formed. Then, the diameter of the plug is determined to form a gap toserve as a gas passage for the reaction gas between the inner wall ofthe gas inlet hole and the sidewall of the plug. Thus, the gas inlethole in the shower plate may be readily machined and at the same timethe conductance of the reaction gas in the gas inlet hole in the showerplate may be changed by changing the plug. As a result, the cost of theshower plate may be reduced and processing conditions such as the flowrate of the reaction gas may be readily changed.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the present invention, the shower plate has asubstantially rectangular shape when viewed from the top.

In this case, the plasma process device suitable for processing such asdeposition and etching by CVAD to a rectangular glass substrate used fora liquid crystal device may be obtained.

In a plasma process device according to any of the above aspects oranother aspect of the invention, the microwave guiding means may includea single mode microwave waveguide.

In this case, the microwave can be readily controlled and a stable andhomogeneous microwave can be transmitted to the processing chamber.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a plasma process device according toa first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross sectional view taken along line II—II inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross sectional view of a part of theupper lid of a vacuum vessel in the plasma process device shown in FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross sectional view of a shower plate in a plasmaprocess device according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the core member shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross sectional view taken along line VI—VI inFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a plasma process device according toa third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross sectional view taken along line VIII—VIII inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross sectional view taken along line IX—IX inFIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a schematic top plan view of the plasma process deviceaccording to the present invention shown in FIG. 7 seen from the top ofthe lid of the vacuum vessel;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross sectional view taken along line XI—XI inFIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of a plasma process device according toa fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a plasma process device according to a fifthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross sectional view of a plasma process deviceaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic enlarged cross sectional view of the vicinity ofa slot plate in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a schematic cross sectional view of a conventional plasmaprocess device; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view of a radial line slot antennashown in FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which the same or correspondingportions are denoted with the same reference characters and thedescription is not provided.

First Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 1, a plasma process device will be described.

Referring to FIG. 1, the plasma process device includes four waveguides1 a to 1 d as microwave guiding means to transmit microwaves, and showerplates 3 a to 3 d. Waveguides 1 a to 1 d and shower plates 3 a to 3 dare provided on the upper lid of a vacuum vessel as a vessel member toform a processing chamber as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, under waveguides 1 a to 1 d, first dielectricplates 2 a to 2 d serving as a microwave guiding window are formed.First dielectric plates 2 a to 2 d are provided to fill a shower plateholder 5 for holding shower plates 3 a to 3 d. Shower plate holder 5 isformed of conductor such as metal. Shower plates 3 a to 3 d are formedat the lower surface of shower plate holder 5. Shower plates 3 a to 3 dare provided to have their upper surfaces in contact with firstdielectric plates 2 a to 2 d, respectively. Shower plates 3 a to 3 dhave gas inlet holes 18 (see FIG. 3). Gas inlet holes 18 are connectedto gas inlet passages (paths) 4 a to 4 d, and 6 a to 6 d. A substrate 8is provided on a substrate holder so as to be under shower plates 3 a to3 d. Substrate 8 is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, andhas a large size about in the range from 500 mm×500 mm to 1 m×1 m.

Referring to FIG. 3, the structure of the shower plate portion of theplasma process device according to the present invention will bedescribed in detail.

Referring to FIG. 3, a shower plate holder 5 is secured with securingbolts 9 a, 9 b on the upper lid of the vacuum vessel having waveguides 1a, 1 b. Shower plates 3 a, 3 b are secured to this shower plate holder 5using securing bolts 10 a, 10 b. Gas inlet paths 4 a to 4 d (see FIG. 2)are formed on the upper lid of the vacuum vessel. Gas inlet path 4 aformed on the upper lid of the vacuum vessel is connected to a gas inletgap portion 7 a as a reaction gas supply passage through a gas inletpath 6 a formed at shower plate holder 5. Gas inlet gap portion 7 aincludes an upper surface of shower plate 3 a and a lower surface ofshower plate holder 5 as a conductor wall surface at its wall surface.Gas inlet gap portion 7 a is connected to gas inlet holes 18 formed atshower plate 3 a. A reaction gas supplied from gas inlet path 4 areaches gas inlet gap portion 7 a through gas inlet path 6 a. Thereaction gas is then let through gas inlet holes 18 from gas inlet gapportion 7 a into the processing chamber to form plasma such that thereaction gas is uniformly distributed. Note that the other gas inletpaths 4 e, 4 f, 6 e, 6 f and gas inlet gap portions 7 b, 7 c as shownhave the same structures as described above.

First dielectric plates 2 a, 2 b are provided under waveguides 1 a, 1 bas described above. Shower plates 3 a, 3 b are provided under firstdielectric plates 2 a, 2 b. A microwave is transmitted from waveguides 1a, 1 b to shower plates 3 a, 3 b through first dielectric plates 2 a, 2b. In this case, first dielectric plates 2 a, 2 b are preferably made ofAl₂O₃ which transmits a microwave in a high transmittance, and is easilymachinable and available. The microwave transmitted to shower plates 3a, 3 b through first dielectric plates 2 a, 2 b is irradiated upon theinside of the processing chamber from the region under dielectric plates2 a, 2 b and plasma is generated at the lower surface of shower plates 3a, 3 b. Since the microwave cannot be propagated deeply inside theplasma, excess microwave components propagate transversely throughshower plates 3 a, 3 b. As a result, the microwave will be irradiated tothe inside of the processing chamber from the entire lower surfaces ofshower plates 3 a, 3 b. The thus irradiated microwave excites thereaction gas introduced into the processing chamber from gas inlet hole18, which results in plasma substantially uniformly distributed over theentire surface of substrate 8 (see FIG. 2). Using this plasma, aprocessing such as deposition, etching and ashing may be performed onsubstrate 8.

Here, the conductor such as metal forming shower plate holder 5 does nottransmit the microwave. As described above, gas inlet gap portion 7 aincludes an upper surface of shower plate 3 a and a lower surface ofshower plate holder 5 at its sidewall as described above, of themicrowave transmitted from waveguide 1 a as the microwave guiding meansto the processing chamber, a component having a large electric fieldamplitude can be prevented from being guided into gas inlet gap portion7 a. As a result, generation of plasma from the reaction gas caused bythe microwave in gas inlet gap portion 7 a (abnormal plasma generation)can be prevented Thus, the wall surface of gas inlet gap portion 7 a, inother words, the upper surface of shower plate 3 a or the like can beprevented from being damaged by the plasma.

Furthermore, since the abnormal plasma can be prevented from beinggenerated in gas inlet gap 7 a, the pressure of the reaction gas in gasinlet gap portion 7 a can be set at a lower level than the conventionallevel. As a result, the difference between the pressure of the reactiongas in gas inlet gap portion 7 a and the pressure of the reaction gas inthe processing chamber can be reduced, then the conductance of thereaction gas in gas inlet hole 18 in shower plate 3 a can be larger thanthe conventional device. As a result, the size of gas inlet hole 18 inshower plate 3 a can be increased compared to the conventional device,and therefore high precision machining required by the conventionaldevice in processing gas inlet hole 18 is no longer necessary. Thisallows the manufacturing cost of shower plate 3 a to be reduced.

Since the difference between the pressure of the reaction gas in gasinlet gap portion 7 a and the pressure of the reaction gas in theprocessing chamber can be reduced, process conditions such as thecomponents of the reaction gas can be adjusted more easily than theconventional device. The use of the shower plates allows the reactiongas to be uniformly supplied in the processing chamber, so thathomogeneous plasma may be obtained.

Also as described above, a shower plate having a large area can bereadily formed using shower plates 3 a to 3 d as the shower plateportion. As a result, a large size substrate can be readily constructed.

The region positioned under the opening portion of waveguides 1 a to 1 das the microwave guiding means serves as a transmission path for themicrowave, and gas inlet gap portions 7 a to 7 c are formed on the uppersurfaces of shower plates 3 a, 3 b in a region other than the regionpositioned under the opening portion under these waveguides 1 a, 1 b.

In this case, the transmission path for the microwave and gas inlet gapportions 7 a to 7 c can be located so as not to overlap one another. Asa result, a component of the microwave having a large electric fieldamplitude can be prevented from being irradiated upon gas inlet gapportions 7 a to 7 c, so that generation of plasma in gas inlet gapportions 7 a to 7 c caused by the irradiation of the microwave upon thereaction gas can be prevented. As a result, the wall surface or the likeof gas inlet gap portions 7 a to 7 c can be prevented from being damagedby such plasma, while the manufacturing cost of shower plates 3 a to 3 dcan be reduced as well, and a large size substrate can be readily copedwith.

As described above, in the transmission path from waveguides 1 a throughfirst dielectric plates 2 a to 2 d and shower plates 3 a to 3 d, themicrowave is transmitted into the processing chamber from waveguides 1 ato 1 d (see FIG. 2). Gas inlet gap portion 7 a to 7 c are formed in aregion other than the transmission path on shower plates 3 a, 3 b.

Therefore, the microwave can be prevented from being irradiated upon gasinlet gap portions 7 a to 7 c, so that the wall surface or the like canbe prevented from being damaged by the plasma, while the manufacturingcost of shower plates 3 a to 3 d can be reduced as described above, anda large size substrate can be readily coped with.

In the plasma process device according to the present invention, gasinlet gap portions 7 a to 7 c are isolated from waveguides 1 a, 1 b asthe microwave guiding means by shower plate holder 5 as conductor.

Thus, of the microwave let into the processing chamber from waveguides 1a, 1 b, a component having a large electric field amplitude can beprevented from being irradiated upon gas inlet gap portions 7 a to 7 c.As a result, the wall surface or the like of gas inlet gap portions 7 ato 7 c can be prevented from being damaged by the plasma, while themanufacturing cost of shower plates 3 a to 3 d can be reduced asdescribed above, and a large size substrate can be readily coped with.

The shower plate is formed by combining a plurality of small size showerplates 3 a to 3 d, and such small size shower plates 3 a to 3 d can beformed using existing equipment. As a result, the manufacturing cost ofthe shower plates can be further reduced.

When a large size shower plate corresponding to a large size substrateis formed in an integral form, a large size heating furnacecorresponding to the size of such a shower plate must be used. In suchlarge equipment, however, the distribution of the heating temperaturefor the shower plate can be hardly uniformly maintained. As a result,the quality of manufactured shower plates can be hardly equal. Accordingto the present invention, however, since relatively small size showerplates 3 a to 3 d are used, such a problem can be avoided.

Since small size, separate shower plates such as shower plates 3 a to 3d are used, if any of shower plates 3 a to 3 d is damaged, the damagedshower plate has only to be replaced. As a result, the maintenance andexamination operation for the plasma process device can be more readilyperformed than the case of using an integral type shower plate.

In this case, shower plates 3 a to 3 d are preferably formed of aluminumnitride (AIN). Since aluminum nitride has high thermal conductivity, ifshower plates 3 a to 3 d are locally heated, the locally applied heatcan be quickly diffused to other part. Therefore, shower plates 3 a to 3d can be prevented from being damaged by such local heat. The use of amaterial with high thermal conductivity for shower plates 3 a to 3 dpermits the temperature of the processing chamber to be made homogeneousover the entire surface of substrate 8. As a result, the plasma processconditions can be more equalized over the entire surface of substrate 8.

The two-dimensional configuration of the shower plate portion formed byshower plates 3 a to 3 d is rectangular as shown in FIG. 1, the plasmaprocess device according to the present invention can be readily appliedto a rectangular glass substrate used for example for a liquid crystaldisplay.

The use of a single mode microwave waveguide as waveguides 1 a to 1 dpermits a microwave to be readily controlled and a stable andhomogeneous microwave can be transmitted into the processing chamber.

Gas inlet hole 18 has a substantially circular cross section in thehorizontal direction and is formed such that the diameter of gas inlethole 18 at the lower surface of shower plates 3 a to 3 d is larger thanthe diameter of gas inlet hole 18 at the upper surface of shower plates3 a to 3 d. Therefore, the reaction gas introduced from gas inlet 18into the reaction chamber is introduced not only in the directionsubstantially vertical to the lower surface of shower plates 3 a to 3 dbut also in a direction oblique to the lower surface. Thus, if forexample the plasma process device shown in FIG. 1 is used for plasmaCVD, the quality and thickness of a CVD film formed on the surface ofsubstrate 8 can be more equalized over the entire surface of substrate8.

Note that shower plate holder 5 is an integral metallic holder herein,but the shower plate holder itself may be divided into four partscorresponding to shower plates 3 a to 3 d. When shower plate holder 5itself is divided, attachment between shower plates 3 a to 3 d andshower plate holder 5, the attachment state between shower plates 3 a to3 d and shower plate holder 5 or the state of gas inlet gap portions 7 ato 7 c may be examined as they are removed from the plasma processdevice (in an off line state). As a result, the plasma process devicecan be maintained/examined with reduced time and labor.

Second Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 4, the shower plate will be described.

Referring to FIG. 4, core members 12 a, 12 b which are plugs as flowrate control means are provided at the gas inlet hole of shower plate 3.A spacer 11 to keep the height of gas inlet gap portion 7 at aprescribed level is provided at an upper surface of shower plate 3. Thestructure of core member 12 a provided at the gas inlet hole will bedescribed in conjunction with FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, core member 12 a includes a rod portion 13 a and anut portion 14 a. Rod portion 13 a and nut portion 14 a can be isolated,and the upper part of rod portion 13 a serves as a male screw and nutportion 14 a serves as a female screw. After rod portion 14 a isinserted into the gas inlet of shower plate 3, nut portion 14 a isengaged into the upper part of rod portion 13 a from the upper surfaceof shower plate 3, and thus core member 12 a can be secured to the gasinlet hole of shower plate 3. At this time, core member 12 a is incontact with shower plate 3 at rod abutment portions 15 a, 15 b and nutabutment portions 16 a, 16 b. Note that grooves to serve as a passagefor a reaction gas are formed at the surface of shower plate 3 which nutabutment portions 16 a, 16 b or nut abutment portions 16 a, 16 b are incontact with.

The use of these core members 12 a, 12 b permits the conductance of thereaction gas in the gas inlet hole to be readily controlled by adjustingthe size of rod abutment portions 15 a, 15 b and nub abutment portions16 a, 16 b.

Also, the use of such core members 12 a, 12 b permits maintenanceoperations such as cleaning of clogging in the gas inlet holes to bereadily performed after these core members 12 a and 12 b are removed. Asa result, time and labor required for maintenance of shower plate 3 canbe reduced.

As shown in FIG. 6, notch surfaces 17 a, 17 b may be formed on the sidesurface of rod portion 13 a. Such notch surfaces 17 a, 17 b permits theconductance of the reaction gas in the gas inlet hole to be readilychanged by changing the notch depth of notch surfaces 17 a, 17 b.

If the diameters of the gas inlet holes of shower plates 3 are setequal, and a plurality of core members 12 a, 12 b are prepared, theconductance of the reaction gas in the gas inlet holes in shower plate 3can be readily changed by replacing core members 12 a, 12 b. As aresult, the manufacturing cost of the plasma process device can be lowerthan the case of prepaling a plurality of shower plates 3 havingdifferent diameters for the gas inlet holes.

Furthermore, as compared to the case of forming a gas inlet hole havinga small diameter to obtain necessary conductance, the use of the gasinlet hole having a size large enough to insert core members 12 a, 12 bcan reduce the manufacturing cost of the shower plate because finemachining is not necessary.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a plasma process device according tothe present invention showing the bottom surface of shower plates 3 a to3 d as viewed from the bottom side of the shower plate. Referring toFIG. 7, the plasma process device will be described.

Referring to FIG. 7, the four divisional shower plates 3 a to 3 d areprovided on the upper lid 23 of the vacuum vessel as the vessel memberfor the plasma process device. Shower plates 3 a to 3 d have gas inletholes 18 to supply a reaction gas into the processing chamber. At theouter peripheral portion of shower plates 3 a to 3 d, there is a showerplate securing member 19 to secure these shower plates 3 a to 3 d toshower plate holder 5 (see FIG. 8) as a pedestal. A cross sectionalstructure of the plasma process device will be described in conjunctionwith FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 8, a substrate 8 is provided on a substrate holder 20in a vacuum vessel 21 as a processing chamber. Exhaust holes 22 areformed at the bottom of vacuum vessel 21. Exhaust holes 22 are connectedto an exhaust pump 25 (see FIG. 14) to let out the part of a reactiongas which has not contributed to the plasma process and a gas generatedby plasma process.

Note however that in the plasma process device as shown in FIGS. 7 and8, shower plates 3 a to 3 d are secured to shower plate holder 5 using ashower plate securing member 19. Shower plate securing member 19 has asupport portion extending to the lower surface of shower plates 3 a to 3d at the outer periphery of shower plates 3 a to 3 d. Shower plates 3 ato 3 d are supported by the support portion. Shower plate securingmember 19 is secured to shower plate holder 5 with a screw or the like.Shower plate securing member 19 presses the outer peripheral portion ofshower plates 3 a to 3 d to shower plate holder 5 by the supportportion, so that shower plates 3 a to 3 d are secured to shower plateholder 5. The other structure is the same as that of the plasma processdevice according to the first embodiment of the present invention asshown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Thus, the process of forming grooves for screws to shower plates 3 a to3 d is not necessary. As a result, the manufacturing cost of showerplates 3 a to 3 d may be reduced.

In the plasma process device shown in FIG. 8, gas inlet holes 18 inshower plates 3 a to 3 d are formed in the region other than under firstdielectric plates 2 a, 2 b. As a result, gas inlet gap portions 7 a to 7c may be surely formed in the region other than the plasma transmissionpath, so that abnormal plasma can be surely prevented from beinggenerated in gas inlet gap portions 7 a to 7 c.

As can be seen from FIG. 9, first dielectric plate 2 a is formed toextend along the direction in which waveguide 1 a extends. As shown,shower plate 3 c is secured to shower plate holder 5 using shower platesecuring member 19 similarly to shower plates 3 a and 3 b.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a microwave is supplied from waveguides 1a, 1 b from a waveguide 24. More specifically, the microwave introducedfrom the upper part of the surface of the sheet to waveguide 24 in FIG.10 branch to the left and right toward waveguides 1 a and 1 b as shownin FIG. 10, and are then supplied from the central portions ofwaveguides 1 a and 1 b to their end portions.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of a plasma process device showing theupper lid of the vacuum vessel as viewed from the lower surface of theshower plate of the plasma process device similarly to FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 12, the plasma process device has basically the samestructure as the plasma process device as shown in FIG. 7 except thatthe shower plate portion is divided into two shower plates 3 a, 3 b.Also in this case, the same effect as that of the plasma process deviceaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention may beprovided.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a plasma process device showing theupper lid of a vacuum vessel viewed from the lower surface of the showerplate of the plasma process device similarly to FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 13, the plasma process device basically has the samestructure as that shown in FIG. 7 except that in the plasma processdevice shown in FIG. 13, an integral type shower plate 3 a is used as ashower plate. In this case, the number of shower plate securing members19 may be smaller than the case of using a separate type shower plateportion. As a result, the process of mounting shower plate 3 a to showerplate holder 5 may be simplified.

Note that the structure of the upper lid 23 of the vacuum vessel fromshower plate 3 a to waveguides 1 a, 1 b is basically the same as theplasma process device shown in FIG. 7. Thus, similarly to the firstembodiment, abnormal plasma may be prevented from being generated in agas inlet gap portion positioned on shower plate 3 a. As a result, thedifference between the pressure of a reaction gas in the gas inlet gapportion and the pressure of the reaction gas in a processing chamber maybe reduced, so that the size of gas inlet holes 18 in shower plate 3 amay be larger than the conventional device. Therefore, the process offorming gas inlet holes 18 does not require high precision processing asrequired by the conventional device, which reduces the manufacturingcost of shower plate 3 a. Furthermore, similarly to the firstembodiment, process conditions such as the composition of the reactiongas may be more readily adjusted than the conventional device.

Sixth Embodiment

Regarding a device according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention, a schematic plan view thereof and a part of the structure arebasically the same as those of the first embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the device guides a microwave into aprocessing chamber using a single mode waveguide similarly to the firstembodiment, but an H-plane slot antenna is used for the inlet portion.

The H-plane slot antenna refers to an antenna having slots at longerside ends in a cross section of the waveguide and irradiating microwavesfrom the slots. The distribution of electromagnetic fields in the longerside direction (in the direction parallel to the H-plane) of the singlemode waveguide is dissymmetrical (1) with respect to a plane through thecenter of the longer side (a plane perpendicular to the longer side andparallel to the shorter side), and is inverted (2) for every half awavelength in the propagating direction of the electromagnetic fields(relative to the guide wavelength in the waveguide, which will beomitted in the following description). As a result, if slots are formedalternately on the light and left with respect to the center of thelonger side in the propagating direction of the electromagnetic fields,the phases of the microwaves radiated from the slots can be all in phaseby the combined effect of (1) and (2).

Normally, a microwave radiated from a waveguide is inverted for everyhalf a wavelength, and therefore there formed a space to cancelmicrowaves with one another for every half a wavelength. However, theuse of the H-plane antenna permits the radiation from all the slots tobe in phase, and such cancellation of microwaves will not be caused.More specifically, more homogeneous and efficient plasma excitation isenabled.

More specifically, slot plates 26 a to 26 d are formed under the longersides of waveguides 1 a to 1 d. Note that in the cross section shown,slots 25 are mainly provided in the downward direction on the surface ofthe sheet (in the direction of arrow 600), in a cross section taken at aposition shifted for half a wavelength in the direction vertical to thesurface of the sheet (in the propagating direction of theelectromagnetic waves), the slots are positioned symmetrically withrespect to the center of the longer side of waveguides 1 a to 1 d (atpositions shifted in the upward direction of the surface of the sheet(opposite direction of arrow 600) under the waveguide).

According to this embodiment, dielectric also fills waveguides 1 a to 1d. This is for the purpose of reducing the distance between the rightand left slots 25 alternately provided to reduce asymmetrycharacteristic caused by thus alternately providing them. If highfrequency microwaves are used, the size of the waveguide itself issmall, and therefore dielectric does not have to fill the waveguide.

Slots 25 are filled with dielectric according to this embodiment. Thisis for the purpose of restraining abnormal discharge which could begenerated in the vicinity of slots 25. Also in this case, ifcountermeasure is taken against such possible abnormal discharge,dielectric does not have to be used for filling the slots.

If the microwave propagation in shower plates 3 a to 3 d is not surfacewave propagation (in the direction parallel to the lid 23 of the vacuumvessel), and is excited in a mode in the direction from the right toleft on the surface of the sheet (in the direction vertical to the upperlid 23 of the vacuum vessel), the thickness of shower plates 3 a to 3 d(the distance from each of dielectric plates 26 a to 26 d to the plasmaexcitation plane at positions of first dielectric plates 2 a to 2 d) maybe set to satisfy a resonance condition to the direction from the rightto left on the surface of the sheet, so that the excitation can beperformed most efficiently. More specifically, the thickness needs onlybe set to an integral multiple of half a wavelength of the microwave.Strictly speaking, the guide wavelength must be used here, but the freespace wavelength of the microwave (though the dielectric constant shouldbe considered if dielectric is used for filling) may be used fordesigning as first-order approximation, because the propagation space islarge enough.

The other structure of the embodiment is basically the same as that ofthe first embodiment described above, and therefore the same members aredenoted with the same reference characters and the description is notprovided.

According to this embodiment, the isolation distance between the lowersurface of each of shower plates 3 a to 3 d facing the processingchamber and the conductor wall surface of upper lid 23 provided opposingthe upper surface positioned on the opposite side of the lower surfaceis an integral multiple of half a wavelength of the guide wavelength ofthe microwave. Therefore, cancellation of microwaves radiated from slots25 can be prevented, so that more homogeneous and efficient plasmaexcitation can be performed.

Note that in the first to fifth embodiments described above, theisolation distance between the lower surface of the shower plate and theconductor wall surface of the upper lid is an integral multiple of halfa wavelength of the guide wavelength of the microwave, so that plasmaexcitation can be most efficiently performed.

Note that in the plasma process device according to the presentinvention, in place of the structure in which substrate 8 is placedhorizontally according to the first to sixth embodiments, substrate 8may be placed upright. Shower plates 3 a to 3 d may be provided on theside wall of the processing chamber (on the sidewall of vacuum vessel21) depending upon the placement of substrate 8.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated indetail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spiritand scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plasma process device, comprising: a processingchamber for performing a processing using plasma; microwave guidingmeans for guiding a microwave into said processing chamber; a showerplate having a gas inlet hole for supplying to said processing chamber areaction gas attaining a plasma state by said microwave, said showerplate having a lower surface facing said processing chamber and an uppersurface positioned on the opposite side of the lower surface; and areaction gas supply passage positioned on the upper surface of saidshower plate to supply said reaction gas to said gas inlet hole, a wallsurface of said reaction gas supply passage including an upper surfaceof said shower plate and an electrically conductive wall surfaceprovided opposing the upper surface.
 2. The plasma process deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the gas inlet hole in said shower plate isformed penetrating from the upper surface to lower surface of saidshower plate, and said gas inlet hole at the lower surface of saidshower plate has a diameter larger than the diameter of said gas inlethole at the upper surface of said shower plate.
 3. The plasma processdevice according to claim 1, wherein said shower plate includes aplurality of shower plate portions.
 4. The plasma process deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said shower plate includes dielectric. 5.The plasma process device according to claim 4, wherein said dielectricis ceramic containing aluminum nitride as a main constituent.
 6. Theplasma process device according to claim 1, wherein said microwaveguiding means includes a single mode microwave waveguide.
 7. A plasmaprocess device, comprising: a processing chamber for performing aprocessing using plasma; microwave guiding means formed on saidprocessing chamber and having an opening to guide a microwave into saidprocessing chamber; a shower plate positioned between said processingchamber and said microwave guiding means and having a gas inlet hole forsupplying to said processing chamber a reaction gas attaining a plasmastate by said microwave; and a reaction gas supply passage formed onsaid shower plate in a region other than a region positioned under theopening of said microwave guiding means for supplying said reaction gasto said gas inlet hole.
 8. The plasma process device according to claim7, wherein said shower plate has a lower surface facing said processingchamber and an upper surface positioned on the opposite side of thelower surface, and a wall surface of said reaction gas supply passageincludes an upper surface of said shower plate and an electricallyconductive wall surface positioned opposing the upper surface.
 9. Theplasma process device according to claim 8, wherein the gas inlet holein said shower plate is formed penetrating from the upper surface tolower surface of said shower plate, and said gas inlet hole at the lowersurface of said shower plate has a diameter larger than the diameter ofsaid gas inlet hole at the upper surface of said shower plate.
 10. Theplasma process device according to claim 7, wherein said shower plateincludes a plurality of shower plate portions.
 11. The plasma processdevice according to claim 7, wherein said shower plate includesdielectric.
 12. The plasma process device according to claim 11, whereinsaid dielectric is ceramic containing aluminum nitride as a mainconstituent.
 13. The plasma process device according to claim 7, whereinsaid microwave guiding means includes a single mode microwave waveguide.14. A plasma process device, comprising: a processing chamber forperforming a processing using plasma; microwave guiding means forguiding a microwave into said processing chamber; a shower plate havinga gas inlet hole for supplying to said processing chamber a reaction gasattaining a plasma state by said microwave; and a reaction gas supplypassage positioned on said shower plate and formed in a region otherthan the transmission path of the microwave guided into said processingchamber by said microwave guiding means for supplying said reaction gasto said gas inlet hole.
 15. The plasma process device according to claim14, wherein said shower plate has a lower surface facing said processingchamber and an upper surface positioned on the opposite side of thelower surface, and a wall surface of said reaction gas supply passageincludes an upper surface of said shower plate and an electricallyconductive wall surface provided opposing the upper surface.
 16. Theplasma process device according to claim 15, wherein the gas inlet holein said shower plate is formed penetrating from the upper surface tolower surface of said shower plate, and said gas inlet hole at the lowersurface of said shower plate has a diameter larger than the diameter ofsaid gas inlet hole at the upper surface of said shower plate.
 17. Theplasma process device according to claim 14, wherein said shower plateincludes a plurality of shower plate portions.
 18. The plasma processdevice according to claim 14, wherein said shower plate includesdielectric.
 19. The plasma process device according to claim 18, whereinsaid dielectric is ceramic containing aluminum nitride as a mainconstituent.
 20. The plasma process device according to claim 14,wherein said microwave guiding means includes a single mode microwavewaveguide.
 21. A plasma process device, comprising: a processing chamberfor performing a processing using plasma; microwave guiding means forguiding a microwave into said processing chamber; a shower plate havinga gas inlet hole for supplying to said processing chamber a reaction gasattaining a plasma state by said microwave; and a reaction gas supplypassage positioned on said shower plate and isolated from said microwaveguiding means by an electrical conductor for supplying said reaction gasto said gas inlet hole.
 22. The plasma process device according to claim21, wherein said shower plate has a lower surface facing said processingchamber and an upper surface positioned on the opposite side of thelower surface, and a wall surface of said reaction gas passage includesan upper surface of said shower plate and an electrically conductivewall surface positioned opposing the upper surface.
 23. The plasmaprocess device according to claim 22, wherein the gas inlet hole in saidshower plate is formed penetrating from the upper surface to lowersurface of said shower plate, and said gas inlet hole at the lowersurface of said shower plate has a diameter larger than the diameter ofsaid gas inlet hole at the upper surface of said shower plate.
 24. Theplasma process device according to claim 21, wherein said shower plateincludes a plurality of shower plate portions.
 25. The plasma processdevice according to claim 21, wherein said shower plate includesdielectric.
 26. The plasma process device according to claim 25, whereinsaid dielectric is ceramic containing aluminum nitride as a mainconstituent.
 27. The plasma process device according to claim 21,wherein said microwave guiding means includes a single mode microwavewaveguide.